Utilizing Instagram Stories to Deliver Educational Content to Medical Students in Pediatrics: Curricular Design and Evaluation

Background: Utilization of social media has been described in medical education, but Instagram as an educational platform for the pediatric clerkship has not been reported to our knowledge. Methods: We piloted an innovative curriculum on Instagram using the Instagram Story functionality to supplement the pediatric clerkship for third-year medical students. Engagement with this curriculum was measured over time and participating study subjects were surveyed at the completion of the clerkship for overall satisfaction. Results: A 29-item Instagram Story curriculum was created by study investigators and medical students in their core pediatric clerkship were invited to participate. Over a span of eight clerkship blocks, the average number of views on the first slide in a Story was 24.8 and the average number of views on the last slide of a Story was 13.3. Average retention rate was 54.3%, the average quiz engagement rate was 32.0%, and the average percent correct on quiz was 87.6%. Students positively rated the Instagram Stories project on feasibility (83.6%), clerkship relevance (89.1%), facilitating engagement in the material (65.5%), assisting in NBME pediatric subject exam preparation (61.8%), and recommending the modality to other clinical clerkships (69.1%). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that the use of social media within a core clinical clerkship is feasible, engaging, relevant and appreciated by medical students. We conclude that social media can be successfully integrated into medical education endeavors and should be strongly considered as a supplemental tool to aid learners and modernize curricula.